My current work is about my re-connection with my home city, Lima, Peru, and how much it has change in the last 15 years due to the economic boom. Huge buildings are invading the city, and the traffic and chaos are inevitable. However, Lima still keeps its charm, at least to me.

Tragic Comity: Prologueoil on canvas, 36"X32", in progress shot

From a new series, Tragic Comity, I've recently been working on. The images included are sourced from vintage photographs found online, recombined to create vignettes that are quasi- allegorical in nature. I'm interested in an ambiguity between life and the theater of life, between instincts and social mores and where they meet. The exploration is still quite new and the piece I've included is a very direct work by comparison to the sketches I've been producing, which I'm sorry I haven't included. I want to reserve all of my personal comments, descriptive or critical (of which I have many), so that this work itself may be viewed without a particular slant or bias. Any comments and criticisms, (formal, palette, thematic, etc.) are appreciated. I feel a bit stuck in some ways and feedback would be most helpful. Thanks.

Starting with a run of drawings all from live model sessions, this painting is an attempt to bridge the gap between my figurative drawing habits and a practice of painting that is tending more and more towards the abstract. All of the previous drawings and subsequently this composition have been built spontaneously over the course of a three hour short pose drawing session. As poses built up, I began to edit, narrow my focus, and try to feel out a sense of movement and gesture throughout the image. Parts of the image that were stable remained stable, those that changed were allowed to flow and sweep and change scale and location to serve the composition. The challenge I face in creating a painting based on this idea is rooted in keeping the vitality of the drawings intact. When laying out a composition on canvas, I didn't try to copy the original...more or less just translate it's essence and general flow. Realizing that the process of painting could take an unexpected turn down the line, I figured that as long as the basic infrastructure was there the rest might somehow hang in place. Another consideration is that the sketch is monochrome, and not wanting to lose the structure of the drawing in a sea of color, I have been careful to keep my color choices toned down. The palette at this point, is essentially primary: transparent orange ochre, scarlet red lake, cobalt blue, lemon yellow, ivory black and titanium white. Starting with a grey toned ground, the under-drawing however, was done with paint pens in a few colors. I started this way in order to give myself a direct link to the original drawing method. Using multiple colors, mostly neutrals, I was able to set up some initial depth as well. In concept, the work is still an experiment. It's an attempt to see how one of my more spontaneous practices translates into a longer studio painting. It's an observation of an expanse of time, maybe illustrated. It's specific form, but seen briefly, and then more. Lather, rinse, repeat. As I near completion on this piece, I wonder what will survive of the initial joy of the moment or if, as in other works, the nature of the paint itself will become too seductive. I'll take my cues from the cubists on this one. See shallow forms, observe edges, resist extravagant color; document space rather than illustrate.